Switch-stand



C- PARTINGTUN.

SWITCH sum). APPLICATION FILED .IULY 20,1921- 1,395,865. Patented Nov. 1, 1921.

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XWK W APPLICATION FILED JULY 20, I921.

Patnted Nov. 1, 1921-.

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CHARLES PARTINGTON, or cINcrNNArr; OHIO, ASSIGNOR T0 [PI-IE cINoINNATI FROG & SWITCH COMPANY, or CINCINNATI, OHIO, A CORPORATION or orrro.

SWITCH-STAND.

Application filed July 20,

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, CHARLES PARTINGTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented certain. new and useful Improvements in Switch-Stands, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to switch stands and has for its'object the provision of mech-' anism for throwing a switch which will be compactly arranged and which will operate smoothly and easily. A particular object of the invention is to provide an arrangement and construction of parts which will permit the employment of a straight lever and in which the frictional resistance to the movement of the working parts will be minimized. Another object of the invention is to provide an arrangement by which the movement of the operating lever will be transmitted to the switch-connecting rod without any binding of the parts and without requiring excessive effort by. the switchman. Another object of the invention is to provide means whereby the operating lever will be supported in a horizontal plane in either of its positions and in which all the workin parts will be protected against an accumu ation of dirt or from the entrance of snow or other matter which would tend to interfere with the successful use of the apparatus.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is an elevation of a switch stand embodying my improvements;

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the same;

Fig. 3 is an end elevation thereof;

Fig. 4 is a detail partly in end elevation and partly in transverse section;

Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the slide;

Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of another form of slide.

In carrying out my invention, I employ a base plate 1 which is adapted to rest upon adjacent railroad ties and bridge the same, the said base plate being constructed at one side with alongitudinal depending portion 2 which serves to prevent stones or other objects being thrown into the space immediately below the base plate or rolling into said space so as to clog the angle lever which acts directly upon the switch-connecting bar. The base plate is also formed with a longitu- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 1, 1921.

1921. Serial No. 486,154.

dinal arch or raised portion 3 which constitutes a cover and support for the pivot of the anglelever, and at the ends of the dependln portion 2, standards 4 rise from the base p ate, the said standards being constructed with shoulders 5 upon their inner edges'to limit the throw of the operating lever and support the same in a horizontal posltion. A cover 6 is secured to the said standards 4 and bridges the upper ends thereof as well as the rear edges of the same'so that the slide and the parts directly engaging the same will be housed and protected from the weather and other detrimental elements. Secured in the standards 4: and extending longitudinally of the cover or housing 6 are supporting and guide rods 7 upon which is mounted the slide 8. The supporting and guide rods 7 are preferably circular in cross section and are disposed vertically one above the other, the slide 8 being provided with passages 9 therethrough to be fitted upon the said rods so as to slide freely thereon. In the form shown in Figs. 1 to 5, the slide 8 consists of a block having a vertical groove or recess 10 upon its inner side and a transverse groove or recess 11 in its lower end; The groove 11 in the lower end of the slide is engaged by a roller 12 carried by one arm 13 of an angle lever which is pivotally supported by the arched cover or hanger plate 3, the other arm 14 of said lever having one end of the switchconnecting bar 15 pivoted thereto. The angle lever is pivotally mounted upon the lower end of a post or pin 16 which is secured in the plate 3 and depends therefrom, the lever being provided at its angle with hub portions 17 so as to reinforce the lever at its pivot point and also to provide a wide bearing around the pivot pin to counteract any tendency of the lever or the pivot post to bend in the use of the apparatus.v Secured upon the plate 3 in the vertical plane of the pivot post 16 is a bracket or standard 18which is preferably of an inverted U-shaped formation so as to bridge the upper end of the post and thereby protect the same against an accumulation of snow or ice or' dirt. Disposed transversely in the upper end of this standard or bracket 18 is a horizontal pivot post 19, upon the inner end of which the operating lever 20 is fulcrumed. The fulcrum of the lever is disposed close to the working end thereof and at its working end the lever carries a roller 21 which plays in the vertical groove 10 of the slide. It will be readily noted that the parts described are very compactly arranged and the lever 20 is straight throughout its length so that it may be accommodated in a very narrow space between the standards 4- and the bracket or postv 18.

When the lever is at rest, it will be supported upon the shoulder 5 of one of the standards 1 and will be thereby maintained in a horizontal plane and it will be readily noted,upon reference to Figs. 1 and 4 particularly, that, when in this position, the pivot or fulcrum of the lever and the point of engagement of the same with the slide are in the same horizontal plane and the point of engagement of the lever with the slide is in the same vertical plane as the point of engagement between the angle lever and the slide so that the parts will be locked against free movement and the switch cannot then be shifted except by the application of force to the power end of the lever 20. When the switch is to be shifted, the lever 20 is swung upwardly over and then downwardly from the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1 to the position shown in dotted lines, and this movement will cause its working end to describe an are about the pivot 19 downwardly under and upwardly so that the roller or pin 21 carried by the working end of the lever will engage the wall of the vertical groove 10 in the slide and cause the saidv slide to shift longitudinally upon the guiding and supporting rods 7 reaching the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1 as the lever again comes to rest in a horizontal plane. As the slide thus moves longitudinally of the rods 7, one wall of the groove 11 in the lower end thereof will act upon the roller or pin 12 carried by the angle lever so as to swing said angle lever about its pivot post 16 and thereby actuate the switchconnecting bar "15 to throw the switch. In the shifted positions of the parts, thepoint of engagement between-the operating lever and the slide will again be in the same vertical plane as the point of engagement between the angle lever and the slide and in the same horizontal plane as the fulcrum of the lever so that any reverse motion applied through the switch bar 15 would have to overcome the dead center of the operating lever in order to move the switch from its set position. Consequently, the switch cannot be shifted except by force applied to the outer end of the operating lever.

In the drawings, lfhave shown the standards 4 as provided with lateral feet 22 which are permanently united with the base plate 1, as by welding, but if a cheaper construction is desired, the standards may be merely struck up from the base plate. Moreover, in Fig. 6, I have shown another form of slide which consists merely of a plate 23 doubled upon itself transversely at its center. to form the bend 24 and provided at its corners with openings 25 to receive the guide and supporting rods. This form of slide may be produced more cheaply than the slide shown in Fig. 5 and will be found satisfactory upon narrow gage roads employing light ported upon the base plate, means at the end. of. the lever to engagesaid slide and actu-.

ate the same, an angle lever supported by and below the base plate and provided at one end with means for engaging the lower end of the slide and receiving motion therefrom, and a switch-connecting bar pivotally attached to the'opposite. end of the angle lever. V V V 2. In a switch stand, the combination of a supporting structure, a slide mounted within said structure and provided in its inner face with a vertical groove and in its lower end with a transverse horizontal groove, an operating lever fulcrumed upon the supporting structure and provided at its working end with means for engaging the vertical groove in the slide, an angle lever pivotally mounted in the sup'portingstructure and provided at one end with means to engage the groove in the lower end of the slide, and a swltch-connecting bar pivoted to the opposite end of the angle lever.

8. In a switch stand, the combination of V a base plate, a housing erected upon the base plate along one side edge of the same, an arched hanger plate erected on the base plate parallel with andspaced from the housing, a standard upon the upper side of said hanger plate, a post dependinglfrom the hanger plate and having its upper end bridged by the said standard, a. pivot ,post

disposed horizontally and transversely in the upper end of said standard, a slide within the housing, an operating lever fulcrumed upon the pivot post in the upper end of said standard and arranged between said standard and the housing for movement in a vertical planeparallel with the housing, means at one end of said lever to engage the slide and actuate the same, an angle lever pivotally mounted upon the lower end of-the post depending from the hanger plate; means at one end of said angle lever to engage the slide and receive motion therefrom, and a switchconnecting bar pivotally attached to the op-.

4. In a switch stand, the combination of a supporting structure, a slide mounted therein, means for holding the slide to a rectilinear path, a hand lever fulcrumed at one side of the path of the slide for movement in a vertical plane parallel with the path of the slide, means for effecting an operative engagement between the lever and the face of the slide, an angle lever ful- 10 crumed below the hand lever for movement in a horizontal plane, the fulcrum of the angle lever being in the same vertical plane with the fulcrum of the hand lever, means for efi'ecting operative engagement between one end of the angle lever and the lower end of the slide, and a switch bar pivoted to the opposite end of the angle lever.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

CHARLES 'PARTINGTON. [L. s.] 

